NATION : Keating 5 Defense Summarized
Defense lawyers argued today that five senators are innocent of ethical wrongdoing, but there were indications the Senate Ethics Committee would recommend punishment for at least one of the Keating Five.
Although none of the lawyers or committee members has predicted the outcome for any particular senator, two panel members and one defense attorney have indicated that they expect some aspect of the case to reach the full Senate.
It would probably go to the floor only if there was a recommended punishment for at least one senator.
Defense lawyers, in closing arguments, said their clients respected Senate rules--avoiding even the appearance of impropriety--when they assisted the troubled S&L; of a political donor, Charles H. Keating Jr.
“There will always be skeptics. There will always be cynics” who believe that public officials “are in some fashion corrupted,” said Charles Ruff, attorney for Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), who together with Sens. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Donald Riegle (D-Mich.) make up the “Keating Five.”
But Ruff argued that Glenn acted properly and asked the committee to judge him “by the sternest ethical standard you can apply.”
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